Raiders players unanimous in support of bringing back coach Cable

A canvassing of the Raiders locker room Monday revealed unanimous support for coach Tom Cable coming back for a fourth season in his current capacity.
Cable replaced Lane Kiffin four games into the 2008 season as the interim coach. Managing general partner Al Davis removed the interim tag after the 2008 season and entusted the Raiders fortune to Cable, who was the Raiders offensive line coach in 2007 and the first four games of the ’08 season.

The Raiders went 4-8 under Cable in 2008, 5-11 last season and are at 7-8 this season. Already, the Raiders have won more games this season than they did in any of the previous seven campaigns. To a man, Raiders players say Davis needs to exercise the option he holds on Cable’s contract.

“It would be a huge setback,” punter Shane Lechler said. “We’ve invested so much of our time and there’s been so much commitment starting from the day he took over. Not only this year. He had a plan. The plan is working. It would be a terrible disappointment if there was a change because he’s the guy for this job. This job is for a blue-collar, hard-nosed coach. That’s what we need.”

Lechler is playing for his sixth coach since he arrived in Oakland in 2000 — Jon Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Kiffin and Cable. He said he’s tired of hearing from new coaches who promise change and fall short on the delivery part.

With Cable, the Raiders are making steady progress and headed in the right direction, Lechler said.

“You can’t have a flashy guy come in,” Lechler said. “I’ve heard it too many times. Every coach comes in, ‘Oh, I’m going to fix this. I’m going to turn this thing around.’ (B.S.). You can’t say that every time because people start calling your bluff. … Cable’s the hard-nosed, blue-collar guy that we need for this job.”

On it went, from one end of the locker room to the other, with player after player singing Cable’s praises and lobbying for his return. The support came from offensive, defensive and special teams players.

“Obviously, I don’t make that decision,” left guard Robert Gallery said. “I know this locker room wants that. We need that. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to this year, going to the playoffs, but we definitely took a step forward from where we’ve been. He’s a big reason for that step.”

Tight end Zach Miller said that Cable has garnered the respect of the players because of his no-nonsense approach. Players know what to expect, where they stand and how things are going to be day in, day out.

“He tells it like it is,” Miller said. “He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He’s honest with us. He tells us exactly how things are, what he needs from us, how he wants us to work, how he wants us to keep grinding as a football team and keep getting better. He’s always been like that and he’s always motivated us to play as hard as we can every chance we get. You see that most of the time on the field. … The guys respect that. All the guys respect coach Cable for being like that.”

First-year Raiders linebacker Quentin Groves said he is impressed with the way Cable is in tune with his players’ needs and does more than pay lip service to looking out for their well being.

“We love him, man, and he’s a great guy to play for,” Groves said. “He’s a player’s coach, and I never knew what that was until I came here. He is really a player’s coach. He doesn’t beat your body down, he takes care of your body during the season. He is actually a player’s coach and I would hate to see him go.”

Cable said he hasn’t spoken with Davis about his long-term status. For now, his thoughts are centered on the Chiefs game.

“I haven’t even thought about it yet because of what we’ve been trying to do here in the last month,” Cable said. “It’s really been probably the furthest thing from my mind. As we get done with the season, we’ll have a couple, two- or three-week period there here, it will be time for all that. But right now, I just want to concentrate on trying to win that eighth game and seeing if we can go 6-0 in the division. So, in all fairness to that question or situation, I just haven’t thought about it yet.”

Cable doesn’t sound like a man worried about his job security, though he admits he wants to stick around for at least another season.

“I’m good at what I do,” Cable said. “So I’m going to coach football. That’s just what I do. In terms of being here and all that, I know that I want to coach this football team. But that’s for after the season, in terms of how it’s discussed and when it’s discussed.”

Steve Corkran

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As long as I’m writing – let’s do a report card on different groups on our team to see who grades out well, and who doesn’t.

Let’s start with a bright spot on the team: Running Back.

Darren McFadden – A
No question about it – those tantalizing morsels from training camp where delusional – this year we learned they were the truth – and so is Darren.

Michael Bush – B
He came into camp #1 on the depth chart, then saw his status drop when he was injured during preseason. Nonetheless he continued to show the inside toughness that made him popular with us over the last couple of years.

Marcel Reese – B-/C+
His unique receiving capabilities give him the potential to redefine the fullback position in the NFL. Unfortunately receiving is not all that a fullback does. He needs to work on his blocking skills.

Rock Cartright – B+ Didn’t get a lot of play because of Bush and McFadden, but showed that he is an intense special teams asset.

This year was a wasted opportunity to pad a record. Weak schedule should have produced at least a 10-6 record. Next year we play the NFC central and others. Imagine Campbells eyes when he see Suh coming at him. I’ve always wanted to see a QB sh*t in his pants on the field.

Yeah at first glance 16-27 is nothing to cheer about but considering where we were and where we are 16-27 aint bad. It pains me to say this but we were truly the worst team in the league and the way we lost some of those games was a complete joke. We have had to start from the very bottom and work our way back to respectability and I think we’ve done that. We are no longer a laughingstock organization. I believe we are on the right track to playing championship RAIDER FOOTBALL and we need to have some continuity going into next year. I know everyone’s first instinct after missing the playoffs is that this was an unsuccessful season and we need to fire everyone and start over but let’s give this team another year and see what happens. If next year we don’t improve our win total then I’m all for changes but let’s ride this one a little bit longer……
GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Didn’t Mike Trgovac run a 4-3 defense under John Fox? I think he is now the d-line coach with the Packers, who run a 3-4, but I think he might be a decent guy to look at for a 4-3 DC when Marshall is fired.

108.raidermarty Says:
December 27th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Yeah at first glance 16-27 is nothing to cheer about but considering where we were and where we are 16-27 aint bad. It pains me to say this but we were truly the worst team in the league and the way we lost some of those games was a complete joke. We have had to start from the very bottom and work our way back to respectability and I think we’ve done that. We are no longer a laughingstock organization. I believe we are on the right track to playing championship RAIDER FOOTBALL and we need to have some continuity going into next year. I know everyone’s first instinct after missing the playoffs is that this was an unsuccessful season and we need to fire everyone and start over but let’s give this team another year and see what happens. If next year we don’t improve our win total then I’m all for changes but let’s ride this one a little bit longer……
GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+++++++++

No thanks….just because some people need to be repeatedly hit in the face before they finally understand they should move doesn’t mean we are all that ignorant. Cable is a joke. He is completely unqualified to be an NFL HC. He has no ability to manage this team to consistent play. This year he took the team to maybe 8-8 despite getting 10+ more points per game thanks to Hue Jackson and playing 10 of 16 games against the putrid AFC and NFC West divisions. This year is about the maximum we can expect out of a guy like Tom Cable….we are going nowhere with him, and the sooner we figure that out, the better.

Raider75 Says:
December 27th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Jason Garrett for HC
Gary Kubiak for OC
Mike Singletary for DC
============================
I’d take Garrett in a heartbeat but not Kubiak and definately not Singletary. Not an x’s and o’s guy. Had his motivational skills suck. Right Troy!

why all the doom and gloom? we have had a very successful season.. we have many things in place for next year.
cable isn’t going anywhere! why would we want to start again?
aren’t the colts a super bowl team? did you really think we should have dominated them? manning is a hall of fame quarter-back, one of the best of all time, if not the best! did you expect our db’s to shut him down?
now we know big richard seymour is the ish!! and j henderson is too, but m henderson is not. he made langston look good yesterday.
we need to enforce both lines. find a free safety who can cover and tackle. i like what huff has done he just doesnt instill any fear in receivers.

djohnnyg

If you don’t give Shanarat credit for the 2 SB’s because he had Elway than you can say that about any great coach.

If Phil Jackson didn’t have Jordan and Kobe, he wouldn’t have had anything, so he sucks.

If Green Bay didn’t have Favre than they wouldn’t have won their SB so Holmgren sucks.

If New England didn’t have Brady they wouldn’t have won anything either. Hence, Belichek sucks too.

djohnnyg

What’s the goal here with the Raiders? Make sure the players are happy with their “inspirational’ coach who teaches them it’s okay to lose as long as you try hard?

Dallas in the mid 90’s won three Super Bowls because they had a ton of talent AND they “were afraid to lose” because Jimmy Johnson would ‘make their lives miserable” when they did.

I want the Raider players to be “happy” as much as the next guy, but I’d rather they go out and win a Super Bowl instead.

That Dallas team of the mid 90’s hated Jimmy Johnson at the time but now they respect and admire him.

http://Raiders.com RaiderTW

If you don’t give Shanarat credit for the 2 SB’s because he had Elway than you can say that about any great coach.
———–
How about when they cheated the salary cap by $95 million to “buy” 2 SBs?

raiderinpa

Im late with this, but wondering what Dakota’s solution to winning is?? Its apparent that he doesnt want Cable, but who would YOU bring in? Better yet, who would you bring in that would actually COME for an interview? Cable gives us the best chance of winning next year (given the wacky Raiders management structure), PERIOD!!

Again, curious as to what your solution is??

EARP

We need A QB, that’s the heart & soul of where your leadership is. AL, RAIDER FRONT OFFICE we need to get CARSON PALMER back home to CALIFORNIA. He is a proven veteran and no wimp! That would be the best vet Qb signing since Plunk & Gannon, this has been the problem for too looong! We spend gazillions for other position players but not for QB??? Carson would revive this Organization local kid too, get rid of Cantball, AKA as Campgirll, next years Qb’s should be Palmer, Fry, & bring back Brennan to develop him. Use draft for OL!